icanbrkurhrt

if anyone lives in the socal area dont ever go to south coast motors to get work done.

so i went this morning to get my valves adjusted. they were pretty loud. paid $90 for everything. went back and picked up my sedan and everything sounded good. i should of open and checked under the hood before i left but i trusted the mechanic and the car sounded good so i left. made the 15 min drive back to my house and by the time i got there the car had started smoking. i popped open the hood only to see that the gasket had not been placed back on the valve cover properly. a piece of the gasket was sticking out on the back side of the motor and was shooting oil out. not only that but my valves had started getting noisy again. soab! my question is... do you valves just unadjusted like that? could it be that i need new valves or is it just that maybe he didnt adjust right? would that have anything to do with the gasket being put on wrong? fyi my car has 212,XXX miles on the stock motor. any info would be great. thanks.

0ne-Cam

adjust them yourself if you have the proper tools. but for the gasket not being put on right, take it back and have them do it again with no cost. if its knocking check your oil level

BiG ChOr!Zo

iTrader: (1)

doesn't that shop advertise in the recycler...?

frank_el_tanke

iTrader: (4)

x2

icanbrkurhrt

oh yeah i already called them back and had a word with the mech that worked on my car. im taking it back tomorrow morning to get the gasket replaced again for free. and i checked the oil level and its full of oil. im not sure why its making noise again. anyone know?

icanbrkurhrt

im not sure. i mean how hard is a valve adjustment. i figured anyone could do it. if i had the tools i would of done it but i dont so i had to take it somewhere.

SRZsmack

the valves are getting loud again because there is no oil to quiet them up since all of it is leaking past your gasket, time for a new valve cover gasket. i bet the valves are still adjusted correctly. all it needs is oil since they are yelling at you from oil starvation.. yeah they were lazy for not double checking.

icanbrkurhrt

cool. so you dont think that it has anything to do with my valves?
btw how much would it be if i had to have my valves replaced? just in case i have to start looking.

BiG ChOr!Zo

iTrader: (1)

if you decide you want to replace the head i got a complete jdm zc sohc head with the more aggressive cam that you could slap onto your d16a6 or d15b2 assuming you still have any of them motors

icanbrkurhrt

well its my stock motor. i believe its d15b. correct me if im wrong (1990 civic dx). pm me a price i might consider it.

Eighty-Nyne

...You paid $90 to take it to this place...instead of buying a $20 small little metric socket set and a feeler gauge.

You're valves are loud because your low on oil, and there is obviously little oil pressure/head flow.

fix or replace the gasket and top her off with oil....maybe clean off your block.

Or just take it back to them...except you'll be leaking oil the whole way. And you're low on oil.

Ed Fisher

Since your post said that you were still full of oil, I doubt a lubrication starvation condition. More likely, your oil heated up, the viscosity changed (thinner), which is normal, and you could hear your valve train a little more distinctly. Tight valves are the enemy, not loose. You should be able to hear a little bit of tapping from the valve cover area. If it is too much noise the mechanic should hear it as well. A pinched gasket, on the backside of a cover, is easy to miss in a production setting. Do it yourself folks often have all the time in the world, are more careful since they are working on their own vehicles, and double/triple check everything. It isn't that way in a production shop. Give him the benefit of the doubt, be polite and patient, and realize that you too will make mistakes in your life. I'm sure it will be fine after a gasket repair.

BoombasticSloth

Valves are supposed to be adjusted when the engine is cold, or cylinder head temperature is under 38c. Some people just want to rush the car out and so may not allow for enough cool down of the engine after the car is brought in. That may also be a factor.

icanbrkurhrt

+1 good to know.